Prosecutors in the United Kingdom are appealing a court decision to throw out a “terrorism” charge against Liam O’Hanna, also known as Liam Og O hAnnaidh, a member of the Irish rap group Kneecap.
O’Hanna was accused of displaying a flag of the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah during a London concert in November, but the case was dismissed in late September by a London court on account of a technical error.
“We are appealing the decision to dismiss this case as we believe there is an important point of law which needs to be clarified,” a spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Tuesday.
Kneecap described the CPS’s planned appeal as “a state wide witch-hunt against Palestinian solidarity”. “It is unsurprising because this whole process has not been driven by the police or the courts, it has been driven by politicians backed up by British media,” said the band on X.
The rapper, also known as Mo Chara (“my friend” in Gaeilge, the Irish language), was charged in May under the United Kingdom Terrorism Act, which states that it is a criminal offence to display an article in a way that arouses reasonable suspicion that someone is a supporter of a banned organisation.
On September 26, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told Woolwich Crown Court that the case was “unlawful” and “null” since it had been brought outside the six-month statutory limit.
Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill said at the time that the charges were “part of a calculated attempt to silence those who stand up and speak out against the Israeli genocide in Gaza”.
The members of Kneecap have been accused by some countries of promoting “terrorism” due to statements made in support of Palestinians during Israel’s war on Gaza.
Hungary and Canada have banned the group from entry, and some of the group’s concerts in Germany and Austria were cancelled this year.
The group has consistently maintained it does not support Hezbollah or Hamas or condone violence.